


Hidden Feelings

by Ninke_A



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, Gift Fic, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Lance and His Hood Of Feelings, M/M, Pining Shiro (Voltron), pining lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-17 04:41:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11268156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ninke_A/pseuds/Ninke_A
Summary: Shiro has noticed something off about one of his team. That realization leads to many more.





	Hidden Feelings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [quiiiznak](https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiiiznak/gifts).



> A little story written for [Quiiiznak](https://quiiiznak.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> She requested Shance, and being me, I added in Langst and awkwardness. 
> 
> I would love to know what you think.

The first time Shiro noticed it, was not the first time it happened. Thinking back, it had been there since the beginning. Now that he became aware of it, he could see it all the time, and honestly Shiro was starting to get sick of it. That. Damned. Hood. Lance’s hood to be exact.

Oh it wasn’t exactly the hood its’self Shiro disliked, no, what he was starting to dislike was seeing it raised up around Lance’s head, pulled down just enough to cover Lance’s eyes. Lance always seemed quieter when his hood was up, or he would disappear into the depths of the castle shortly after he drew it up. Then he finally figured it out.

Lance and Keith had been at it again. Yelling at each other across the training room. Keith had snapped at one of Lance’s missteps and the two were off. Just as Shiro was about to intervene, he caught it. Lance ran his hands through his hair and dragged his hood up. He continued the argument for another few ticks then, threw up his hands, and stalked out of the room. Shiro hadn’t heard exactly what Keith had said, but he had just barely caught a glimpse of wetness in Lance’s eyes before the hood was raised.

Keith had looked just as surprised as Shiro at Lance’s abrupt exit, so Shiro was pretty sure whatever had happened had been an accident. But, that incident had gotten him thinking about Lance, and that hood of his, so he resolved to keep a closer eye on him. Just to be sure.

That led Shiro to now, standing across the dining hall, staring at Lance’s hooded head. Since he had started paying closer attention, he honestly could not think of a single day where the hood stayed down completely. As much as he wanted to talk to Lance about it, the hood was not the only thing Shiro had noticed.

He noticed how everyone was greeted by a bright smile every morning. He watched as Lance pressed a firm hand to Hunk’s shoulder after breakfast without fail. He saw Lance spend hours cleaning his lion from top to bottom apparently just because Blue liked it. He caught Lance playing with the mice and sneaking them bits of his own food. He paid attention to the fact that the first hand there to help anyone up was always Lance’s hand. He felt more than saw the warmth at his own back in battles, careful shots keeping the Galra at bay.

Everything Shiro saw, these little things kept adding up, drawing Shiro more and more into the complexity that was Lance. How could anyone that gave so much to his team feel the need to hide himself? Shiro eventually decided to sit down in the quiet of his own room and think, long and hard about all the times he remembered seeing that hood raise up, slipping over Lance’s eyes. It happened so often that some were actually hard to pinpoint what could have caused it. Then, he remembered the very first time it had happened. It had been when they were escaping from Earth in Blue. It had been quick and jumbled, but Now that he was thinking about it, the moment stood out clearly. Shiro had been gripping a bar above Lance’s head, Pidge had actually been pulling Lance’s shirt while Hunk was glued to his friend’s hair and arm and Keith was curled around the edge of the seat. Nothing really stood out except for Keith grouching about Lance being a bad pilot. It wasn’t until things had settled and they were smoothly passing their system’s plants that Shiro realized Lance’s hood was up. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now it made him wonder…

The second time, he could remember it happening was almost immediately after Allura had insulted Lance’s ears, true the hood had quickly dropped back down as he bantered with Coran, but it had been up for a short time. After that the pattern was easy to see. The hood went up every single time something less than kind was said to him. But.. Shiro knew of at least a dozen times the hood was up even though no one had spoken to Lance for hours.

Shiro was really starting not to like it. He didn’t like knowing Lance was feeling down, even if there was no logical reason behind it. He was also starting to notice that he liked Lance’s smile a bit too much, and enjoyed the shoulder bumps that often accompanied a bad joke. He was starting to wish for those bright eyes to land on him, for the touch of a soft palm against his jaw, to wrap his arms around a skinny frame and hold tightly.

But Shiro had responsibilities, to the team, the battle they were fighting, even to Lance. Just because Shiro was starting to be distracted by a pretty laugh and the way the light made Lance’s hair look incredibly soft, did not mean that Lance needed Shiro and all his baggage. So he kept his distance, still noting the appearance of that damned hood, but unsure how to handle it without letting other things slip.

Weeks went by, many battles with the Galra, some accidents on the various planets, two betrayals by people they thought were allies, and.. Far too many instances of Lance in healing pod. Each one seemed to wear Shiro down just a bit more. How much longer would they be here? How many more times did he have to see Lance, with ice crystallized on his lashes in a pod? What if, one of those times, the pod wasn’t enough? What if they can’t make it back to the castle in time? Shiro would have to live the rest of his life knowing that Lance had died, thinking that he had to hide his pain and sadness from them. Shiro would have to survive knowing that he could have made it better but didn’t because it might be awkward for him. Shiro would have to exist without ever knowing if he had a chance. His feeling were too strong to just let it lie any longer.

Those thoughts kept rolling around his mind, every time he saw Lance raise his hood to hide his face, every time Lance entered the room with his hood up and a fake smile plastered on his face, every single time, he saw a bitten lip and downcast eyes before they were obscured by fabric. Finally, Shiro had enough. He watched as yet again, Lance smiled at Pidge, before folding his hands behind his head and casually tugging his hood over his face. Pidge had been smiling the whole time, so Shiro couldn’t understand what was said to make Lance hide away again. But, he was done second guessing himself. He was going to ask Lance and get to the bottom of it, once and for all. Then.. depending on how that went… maybe he would figure out the answer to his other question. Could Lance ever feel the same as Shiro did?

When Shiro finally went to find Lance, almost four months after he first noticed Lance’s thing with his hood, he looked in all the usual Lance locations. The kitchen, complete with one Hunk merrily cooking, the observatory, empty, Lance’s room, empty except for the small mice cuddle pile on his pillow, the training room, holding one Keith and two robots, the control room, being worked on by Allura and Coran, the hangars, containing five lions and one extremely irritated Pidge and finally the common area, which was also empty. Shiro honestly wasn’t sure where Lance went when he disappeared but he was determined to find him.

Hours later, when Shiro finally did locate Lance, he was sitting in one of the little used rooms that were scattered about the castle. It was a room Shiro didn’t ever remember being in before. But, when he opened the door, there was Lance, curled up into an impossibly small ball in one of the weird chairs, hood up and head resting on his raised knees. He was humming something soft and low, barely audible in the silent room.

“Lance?” Shiro’s voice seemed overly loud here, and he unconsciously lowered it when he repeated himself. “Lance?”

The room was silent before Lance’s head came up, that damned hood still covering most of his face. “Oh, hi Shiro. Did I forget a training session again?” Then Lance was up, moving and talking, and Shiro could barely wrap his head around it all. “I’m sorry, I have been working on being less forgetful. I’ll put in extra time after dinner. It’s just usually this is Keith’s training time and he gets mad when I interrupt. Sorry, you had to come and get me..”

“Lance.” Shiro interrupted. “You didn’t forget anything. I just.. wanted to talk to you for a bit.”

Lance stilled, halfway to the door, turning slightly to face Shiro, although his hood was pulled so low that Shiro had no idea how Lance could see anything. Then a hand came up, and the hood was pushed back, not far enough to fall off his head completely but enough for Shiro to see Lance’s eyes. Eyes that looked tired, wary and slightly red along the edges.

“You want to talk to me?” Lance parroted, his tone oddly blank before he shrugged and dropped his head a little, letting the hood cover his face again. He turned, and made his way back to the chair, dropping into it gracelessly. “Okay, what did I do?”

Shiro moved across the room, ignoring the other chairs to plant himself on the odd looking table that was in front of Lance’s chair. “You didn’t do anything. I just had a question.”

Lance raised his head, letting the hood fall off completely. He shrugged. “Fire away then.”

Shiro blinked, he hadn’t actually planned much after this point. “I just.. wanted to know if you were okay.”

“Of course, I’m okay! Why wouldn’t I be?”

Well, Shiro was not going to get a better opening than that. “Then, why do you keep hiding in your hood?” Okay, perfect opening or not, that could have been phrased much better. He expected Lance to pull his hood back up, mumble an excuse and then vanish again, not that Shiro actually intended on letting Lance do that. But what he got was a rough chuckle.

Lance’s face was scrunched up, and he raised his legs back up, resting his head on his knees. “Come on, Shiro. Why wouldn’t I?”

Confused, he scooted to the edge of the table, just a bit closer to Lance. “What do mean Lance? Why would you?”

“Isn’t it better that I keep it here?” He raised a hand, tugging at the hood, but letting it lie on his shoulders still. “No one has time for my messes, Shiro. You said so yourself.”

He did? When did he say that? Shiro would have remembered that, right? Still, he went with it. “Lance, I didn’t mean for you to keep your feelings hidden. I don’t want you to hide things from us.”

Lance chuckled again. “No offense Shiro, but I don’t believe you.” There it was, the hood was pulled up again, and Shiro had the urge to grab it, pull it down and see what Lance was hiding. “You’ve been avoiding me for weeks, and you just said I didn’t do anything.”

Shiro winced. “That.. has nothing to do with.. this.” Shiro raised his own hand, and brushed it against the hood. “That was.. I was working through something, that was all.”

Lance shook his head, the fabric swaying as he moved. “It’s fine. Not a big deal.” He shrugged then, and finally got back to the original question. “I’ve always done this when I feel a little low. Nothing at all to worry about it.” He smiled, but Shiro knew, deep in his gut that it was a fake smile.

The knowledge that it was something Lance did when he felt low, did not make Shiro feel any better about it at all. That meant, that almost every day, Lance felt badly. “But, you pull your hood up at least once a day.. Lance, do you really feel bad so often?”

“Sure, I’m nothing special, everyone knows that.” Lance shrugged again, something that made Shiro honestly angry. “But, there isn’t any reason to bring it up, everyone has problems, right? So I don’t. It’s not like how I am feeling changes anything.” Lance leaned back a bit. “So, I don’t let it.”

“But, it affects you.” Shiro frowned, unhappy with Lance’s words. “If you are feeling bad, then.. why not talk to someone? Coran or Hunk? Or me, you can always talk to me.”

Lance just shook his head. "Coran and Hunk have more important things to do. You know how Coran gets when something is off with the ship, and that one gun is still off no matter how much he fiddles with it."

This was news to Shiro, he had no idea one of the guns wasn't working.

"Hunk, bless him." Lance actually ducked his head a little, like it was an honest prayer. "He's had to put up with a lot being my friend for so long. I'm letting him enjoy his time with Pidge. They get each other, you know?"

Well, that was true, the two could go off on tangents and no one would be able to break up their tech session for hours. Shiro could see some of what Lance was saying but he also knew if Lance needed him Hunk would drop everything. "Okay, what about me?"

Lance actually snickered, and Shiro was offended for a full tick before Lance was explaining. "When would I do that? When you are training Keith, working with Allura, helping Hunk and Pidge, strategizing with Coran or bonding with Black? Which very important thing should I interrupt because I'm feeling a little low?"

Shiro sighed. He hated that Lance felt he wasn't able to talk to him, and yes, he was busy, but he made time for everyone else, he certainly would do the same for Lance. Especially now. "What about after dinner, during our free time?"

“Then what?” Lance raised his head, dropping his legs back to the ground. “We’re still going to have to be here, no matter how much I miss my family. We are still going to have to fight, no matter how bad I am at flying, and we are still going to get into fights no matter how scared I am of missing something and letting one of you get hurt.”

That was.. true sadly. “Yes, but, I’ve noticed that you do it here, in the castle all the time. Usually when someone is talking to you. Is that because you are homesick or scared?” He would address the lack of confidence later.

Lance shook his head, hood moving slightly. Shiro didn't like it. He hated that the hood was still up even while Lance was doing something as simple as talking to him. Did Shiro make him feel low in some way? That was not acceptable. He hadn't spent far too many nights in his room, imagining sharp blue eyes on him, hands drifting over his skin and a warm happy smile only to learn that he was why Lance felt the need to hide.

"No." Lance was quiet for a bit, before the hood was pushed back slightly, and those blue eyes were fixed on Shiro. It wasn't the way he wished, but they were there. "Those are more when I feel like a waste of everyone time. When I've said or done something and the team rightfully lectures me for it. You know, everytime I act like me and not the paladin everyone expects me to be."

Shiro felt his heart break a bit at the resigned tone Lance had. He wanted to gather him close, soothe him with soft words and a strong hug. He wanted to keep Lance close so none of these things could ever bother him again, not without Shiro knowing immediately. "Lance..."

"It's fine. I do actually know what's important here, Shiro. The only reason I am telling you at all is because we all promised to be honest when asked direct questions to help keep misunderstandings down."

That had been an extremely awkward conversation. Coran had actually been the one to implement it and he had been forceful enough that even Allura had agreed. Shiro almost wondered if this was why Coran had made that decision.

"Lance, I want you to feel like you can tell me anything, despite that agreement. I want to be here for you."

Again the hood swayed back and forth. "You don't have the time."

His human hand shot out, wrapping around Lance's firmly. "I will make time. You're an important part of the team, Lance."

Lance stared down at their hands before trying to pull his away but Shiro held firm. "Please.. just stop. It doesn't matter, I'm not letting it get in the way of our missions. I'm good at keeping things to myself. Just ..."

That was new, he couldn't help but wonder what else Lance was keeping hidden behind that damned hood. "Like what?"

Lance's head came up and he froze, eyes wide and slightly panicked. Immediately, Lance's free hand was up pulling the hood forward as far as it could go before Shiro caught that hand as well. He kept both hands firmly in his own, despite Lance's wiggling to get loose.

"Nope, no, nuh uh, not happening, thanks but no thanks." Lance paused studying their hands for a tick, then twisted his whole body down and around, managing to get free and step out of Shiro's reach. It was honestly one of the more impressive moves Shiro has seen Lance make. "I get enough grief about it from Keith and Pidge, I am not telling anyone else." He back stepped quickly, and shoved his hands deep into his jacket pockets. "So thanks for the chat, always nice to see you, later bye." Before Shiro could get up and take a step, Lance was gone. 

He blew out a large breath. Close, Shiro, but not close enough. 

 

*********

 

By the time Shiro managed to track Lance down again, he was in a three way face off with Keith and Pidge. His hood was down, which was a positive but he also looked furious. Pidge and Keith, on the other hand, looked very amused. 

"Wow, you know, if you just tell him.." Pidge abruptly leaned back when Lance pushed himself close to them.

"If even a hint leaves your mouth Pidge, I am telling Coran about the thing. Not the thing you _know_ , I know about, but the _other_ thing."

Shiro came close enough for all of them to look up at him. Keith still looked amused, but Pidge's eyes were wide and they were nodding frantically. "Got it!" Their voice was an actual squeak. 

Keith grinned. "So Shiro..." He glanced at Lance and then froze. 

Lance mouthed a few words, and Keith paled so fast, Shiro was certain he was going to pass out right there. Not the best at lip reading, he only caught the works 'Hunk' and 'kitchen'. 

Keith's mouth snapped closed, and like Pidge he nodded rapidly. "I'm uh.. going to go see Red!" Keith took off, literally racing out the door. 

Lance's frown disappeared and he smiled over at Shiro. "Right, off to clean with Coran." He crossed his arms behind his head and casually strolled out of the room. 

Confused, Shiro turned to Pidge, who shook their head. "Nope."

"Pidge." He lowered his voice, just a bit, using the dad tone that usually had everyone falling into place, but whatever Lance threatened with worked, because Pidge looked conflicted for a full five ticks before mumbling an excuse and bolting from the room. Shiro was left alone in the empty room, full of unanswered questions. 

So he did what any sensible, rational person would do in this situation. He went to Hunk. 

Hunk was curled up in the common room, a plate of goo on the table close by, and working on a data pad. He smiled when he noticed Shiro, and everything about it was so normal that Shiro couldn't help but think of Lance's earlier words. 'Hunk, bless him.'

Shiro took a couple of minutes to try and sort everything out, before he started asking questions. It was something he did often, unless Slav was around, so Hunk just returned to his work while Shiro thought. In the end, he decided to just start with the most important thing to him and work his way down the list. 

"Hunk, do you know what Lance is hiding from me?" 

"Yup." Hunk didn't even look away from the data pad, keeping his eyes fixed on the project. 

Shiro had two choices now. He could pin Hunk down, get him to admit what he knew. It wouldn't be hard, a couple minutes of solid staring and hard tone, and Hunk would crack. Or, he could ask other questions that could give him a hint, to see if whatever it was, was really big enough to worry about. Given that Lance had beat him to Keith and Pidge, Shiro wisely chose option two for now. 

"Is it something I need to know?" 

Hunk hummed. "I'm not sure..." 

That was fair. "Is it something I want to know?"

"Well.. _I_ would want to know... but maybe, maybe not." Hunk shifted, looking uncomfortable. 

Given that it concerned Lance and apparently everyone knew but him, Shiro was pretty sure he wanted to know. One more question and then he would move on. "Hunk. Is it important?" 

Finally, Hunk looked up, his mouth was set into a small frown and his eyes were serious. "For Lance? Yes. For you, I don't know." 

That settled it. Shiro was going to hunt Lance down and figure out what else he was hiding. If it was important to Lance, then it was pretty important to Shiro too. "Thank you." He relaxed, leaning back in the chair. He didn't have to be so careful with his words now. It was much easier to get Hunk to tell on anyone other than Lance. "So.. what is this thing Pidge is hiding?"

A small smile crossed Hunk's face. "Lance says they're hiding a couple things, but, I know know about one myself. They're building a display model for Allura that will cycle through various scenes from Altea. It's a surprise though." 

Shiro nodded, his own smile starting. Pidge was secretly very sweet, behind that mouthy facade. "And, has Lance already told you what he has on Keith?" 

Hunk shook his head. "No, he said he was going to keep that one for something big, so whatever it is it has to be good." 

Something big.. and Lance had just used it to keep Keith quiet about whatever he didn't want Shiro to know. He immediately started planning exactly when and where to corner Lance next. "Darn, well thanks anyway, Hunk." He stood, and started to turn away, but Hunk caught his arm. 

Hunk's face was worried now, but he pulled his hand away quickly. "Shiro.. just.. if you do figure it out.. be kind, okay?"

He let his hand fall on Hunk's shoulder. "Of course." 

 

*********

 

It ended up taking almost a full week for Shiro to corner Lance. Well, corner him without interruptions. The first time, he'd caught Lance in the hall, and was completely prepared to keep him there until Shiro figured it out, but the alarms had sounded and they had to go and fight. The second time, he found Lance in the hangar, cleaning Blue and chatting softly at her. He'd only taken one step before Allura was calling him to the control room, in the end, he'd sighed and left. The third time, Lance had been sound asleep in the common room, hood pulled up, and his lanky frame tucked into one of the chairs. Shiro hadn't the heart to wake him, instead he'd carried Lance to his room, and if he'd let his hand brush the other's cheek, well, no one but him really knew. 

The fourth time, however, proved to be the charm. Shiro came across Lance by accident this time, again in one of the little used side rooms, with his hood up, idly petting the mice that were scattered around his lap. To insure Lance stayed put, he locked the door, silently thanking Coran for showing him how, and crossed the room to settle in an adjoining chair. 

Before he could even clear his throat, Lance was talking, softly, almost more to the mice than Shiro. "Hunk told me you asked him abut what I don't want to tell you." 

"Yes, I did." 

A long finger stroked down the thin blue mouse, the one that tended to bite, if Shiro remembered correctly. He seemed happy enough with Lance's petting, but then again, Shiro would be too. 

"So... You want me to tell you?" 

"Yes, I do." He did. He wanted to know what it was that Lance kept close, what else he hid under that hood of his. Shiro wanted to know why everyone else seemed to know but him. 

"I don't really want to tell you." Lance's hand stilled until the mouse squeaked and it started moving again. "I didn't want anyone to know."

Well, that made Shiro feel a little better to know that Lance wasn't only keeping this from him. "Would it really be that bad to tell me?" 

Lance shrugged. "Yeah... it probably will be, but Hunk says I should tell you anyway." His finger raised up and lightly poked the thin mouse on the nose, making him chatter, before Lance shooed all of them off. 

Shiro watched as the mice disappeared into one of their holes before turning back to Lance. His fingers itched to shove the hood down, so he could see Lance's pretty eyes, see how the light would shift on the angles of his face. But, something kept him still, making his ask instead. "Will you put your hood down?" 

Shiro watched as teeth grazed a lip, pulling it into Lance's mouth for a moment before it popped back out, slightly wet. Before he could do something absurd, like claim that lip for himself, a hand came up, shifting the hood back just enough so the edge of it rested on Lance's hairline. It wasn't completely off, but it was much better than before. Shiro could see Lance's eyes, that were fixed on his lap, and the expression of resigned acceptance that settled on his face. 

The words fell out before Shiro could stop them. "If you tell me, I'll share a secret with you." The moment they were out, Shiro felt they were right. 

Lance's eyes flicked up, and studied Shiro's face before they dropped back down, and he stood abruptly, turning so that he could pace the length of the little room. "That's okay. I'll just tell you, then you can laugh about it later." 

"I won't laugh." Not if it was that important to Lance. Shiro didn't even care if it was an admission that Lance had spray painted all the lions with polka dots, he was not going to laugh. 

Lance kept shifting, three steps one way, four steps another, back and forth, and again Shiro itched to reach out, catch his hand, curl an arm around his waist, pull Lance close and bury his own face in Lance's neck. 

Just as he was considering reaching out to catch a hand or an arm, Lance broke the strained silence by just blurting it out. "So, I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you." 

Shiro did not even have a tick to process, he barely had time to suck in a breath before Lance continued.

"I know that nothing will ever come of it, and really, for the good of the team I should just let it go." His hands came up, one burrowing into his jacket pocket and the other gesturing around the room as he rambled. "Really, I don't even know why I let it get this far, I should have stopped it at a simple crush. It's absurd to think that you could ever be interested in me that way, I mean have you seen you?"

Shiro's heart was racing. Lance loved him? Lance, who was beautiful, and giving and so, so good, loved Shiro back? A wide smile crossed his face before Lance's words registered and he frowned. Why was it absurd? Shiro wasn't as pretty as Lance, but really who was? But Lance was still talking, and Shiro knew that he needed to hear all of it. 

"..all I do is mess up, and you deserve someone just as great as you are. That's not me. I try, I really do, but there are so many things I just can't do right, and it's silly for me to think I have a chance. So that's why I didn't tell you." Lance stopped, far enough away that Shiro couldn't reach him without moving. At some point, that _stupid_ hood had been moved back down, hanging over Lance's eyes, almost to the tip of his nose. Knowing that admitting this, something that should be wonderful for _both_ of them, was doing nothing but making Lance sad, was the final straw. 

Shiro was out of his chair and in front of Lance, human hand raising to gently brush the hood back, letting the tips of his fingers trail across a smooth cheek. Watching as the hood fell to rest on Lance's shoulders, as Lance's eyes closed tightly. "I wish you had told me sooner." 

Lance's breath hitched, and his eyes squeezed tighter, but Shiro kept his hand still, letting backs of his knuckles slowly rub against Lance's jaw, his cheekbone, drifting slowly down to trail across his chin, eventually letting his hand rest gently on the curve of his neck. Shiro shifted a bit closer, pressing his forehead to Lance's. It was wonderful, feeling Lance's skin, his shaky breaths puff across Shiro's face.

"It makes my secret a lot easier to tell you." Shiro waited patiently, until Lance's eyes opened, glinting slightly in the low light. "I love you too."

It was so much easier to see Lance's feelings without that hood blocking his eyes. Because his eyes showed everything. Sorrow, confusion, disbelief, hope, caution, all these flashed in his eyes, before Lance closed them tightly again, shaking his head a bit. 

"You don't have to say that..." 

"Of course, I don't." Shiro made sure to keep his voice soft. "I want to say it. I want to tell everyone. I want to come back from a mission and wrap my arms around you," He slid his Galra arm, carefully, so carefully, around Lance's waist, keeping his human hand on Lance's neck, thumb just brushing his jaw. "and know that we both made it back safe. I want you to tell me how you are feeling, and know that I will do my best to fix it. I want you to believe me, Lance." 

Lance's eyes opened slightly, bits of moisture clinging to his lashes. For a long moment, Lance just stared at Shiro's face, eyes mapping it out like he wanted to memorize it so that he would never forget it. For his part, Shiro did his best to keep his expression as open as possible, wanting, no needing Lance to know he was being honest. That Shiro loved him. 

Whatever it was Lance was looking for, he must have found it, because his eyes lit up, a smile slowly growing at the edge of his mouth. "You.. really do.. like me back?" 

Shiro let his hand slide up, to cup Lance's cheek, tilting his head slightly. When he spoke, his words were against Lance's mouth. "No.. I _love_ you back." He closed that tiny gap, pressing his mouth to Lance's. His lips were soft, like cotton candy, and it was so easy to tilt his head just a bit more to make it better. The kiss was light and soft but Shiro would have been happy to stay just like that, but then Lance started to press back, and it was perfect. One of Lance's hands curled around Shiro's bicep, while the other hovered a bit before resting lightly on his chest. 

Shiro lost several minutes to sweet kisses, warm hands and soft lips. When he finally pulled back, just to catch his breath, both his arms were tight around Lance's waist, and Lance's arms were curled around his own neck. He had so much to say, but promptly forget them all when Lance chased after his mouth. They could wait, he finally decided, sinking back into the soft kisses. He had Lance, in his arms, willingly pressed right where Shiro wanted him. Everything else could certainly wait.  


End file.
